1. Pharmacists Perceptions of the Development of Herbal Medicines in Iran
Asghari G.
Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I.R.Iran

2. Objectives
Identify pharmacists overall assessments of the WHO-TRM Strategy components influencing the development of herbal medicine market in Iran.
In Iran, although the sale of herbal medicine is growing, at present its share in the drug market is <5%.

3. Methods:elements assessed
Access: affordibility, supply, distrubution, market expansion, health insurance coverage, price
Rational use: provider training, consumer information, public information, commercial advertizing, student education
Safety, efficacy, quailty: pharmacovigilance, packeging and lebelling, quality assurance, clinical trial, new dosage form
Regulation: registration , integration to NHS, legal consideration, licensing, auditing

4. Questionnaire used
The 20 questions consisted of 5 items addressing safety, efficacy, and quality of herbal medicines, 5 items about the rational use, 5 items about the access to herbal medicines, and 5 items about regulation.
A five – point Likert rating scale was used for the final 20-item with choices strongly agree, agree, somewhat agree, disagree, and strongly disagree.

5. Subjects
72 community retail pharmacists practicing in Isfahan city in private pharmacy were participate to complete the survey. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire.
After their continuing education course, pharmacists were asked to complete a written survey evaluating elements that can influence the development of herbal medicine in Iran .

6. This is where a large graphic or chart can go.

7. Results:
In the safety, efficacy and quality section, there were significant differences between efficacy and others. The results showed that pharmacists believe poor efficacy in herbal product negatively influence their market.
There was a significant difference in access section between cost and availability.
The results demonstrated that the pharmacist perceptions of development of herbal medicines vary from access and regulation items to safety, efficacy, quality and rational use items.

8. Conclusion :
Since this data were collected to assess the perception of specific city pharmacist, they may not necessarily show the reality and may not nationally applicable or acceptable.
Iran health system needs to evaluate their herbal medicine market by various methods in order to promote their herbal medicine market to meet health care demands.

9. Challenging methodological issues:
Reliability and validity in the collection of data:
pretest group, clarity, wording, representative
use of questionnaires in multi cultural society, (questions of quality, rational use, safety are strongly determined by the cultural context.)

10. Complexity of the herbal medicines use:
Influence of social factors, cultural factors, definition of health ( herbal medicine is the best solution)
Limitation: what people think or what they are willing to report is not necessarily the same as what actually happens.

11. Question should be included in future research:
Public Demand
Marketing mechanisms
Level and distribution of wealth in the country
Affordability of professional care
Affordability of traditional herbal materials
Free access to formal medical care

12. Number of pharmacies
number of traditional healer
availability of professional care
Availability of drug
Availability of traditional market

13. Behavioral factors: pharmacist dispensing behavior patient compliance
illness behavior
attitude of health professionals
attitude to health
Cultural values: